Erling Haaland has ‘married’ Manchester City with new 10-year contract, admits agent Rafaela Pimenta | OneFootball

The super-agent of Erling Haaland has admitted that the Norway international striker has professed his love to Manchester City by “marrying” the club.

Pep Guardiola’s leading number nine has broken a whole host of records since completing a blockbuster move to the Etihad Stadium from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, becoming arguably the very best in his position worldwide.

His debut season brought immense history to both Manchester City and English football, with his record-breaking goalscoring exploits inspiring the club to a Treble of silverware only ever matched by rivals Manchester United in 1999.

That haul also included Manchester City’s first-ever UEFA Champions League title, while the following campaign and Haaland’s contributions brought about a fourth consecutive Premier League title – a feat never-before achieved.

Unsurprisingly, City officials were not only keen to retain Haaland’s services for the foreseeable future, but also reward the 24-year-old for his remarkable achievements in front of goal and his position as a leading figure within Pep Guardiola’s dressing room.

Speaking during a bumper interview with The Athletic’s Charlotte Harpur, Haaland’s agent Rafaela Pimenta admitted the ‘dream’ from a representative’s perspective of negotiating and finalising a contract such as the striker’s new arrangement with Manchester City.

“There’s the football dream and there’s my dream as an agent to do beautiful deals. It took a lot of time to build. From everybody involved: [Manchester] City, the player, family. It’s a work of art. At the end I was like: ‘What a beauty'”, said Pimenta.

“We were so happy to achieve this because there was no tension. There was an ambition, a will. How do we get there? You’d bump into a dead end and another but then let’s fix this, add this layer to the document and discussion.”

She continued, “It’s so annoying to say ‘nine-and-a-half years’. But in the end, that’s what it was. To put our thoughts and dreams into words, it takes time. Dammit, I wanted to call it 10 years!”

Discussing the sheer length of the contract, which surprised many in the game with its status as a record-breaking agreement between player and club, Pimenta admitted that it was a case of Haaland professing his love for his boyhood club.

“If I want to send you a message that I love you, I marry you. I don’t date you. How can you express love bigger than marrying you? That was the goal. To express what this partnership with this club really means,” the 52-year-old explained.

“If it means something, let’s put it on paper and celebrate. Let’s be loud about it. We sent a message: we hold hands and we’ll grow into something that is bigger than it is today. It takes time. There are ups and downs and good and bad moments but we’re here for each other.”

“If we’re able to pass a message to supporters, stakeholders, sponsors, to the ones who look at this project long-term as something that’s planned long-term, it allows everything that comes with it to get organised. That lets us achieve bigger things.”

Rafaela Pimenta did however stress that amid the speculation surrounding the financial details of the deal, such numbers will always remain confidential, while the subject of Manchester City’s widely-publicised 115 charges was also raised in the interview.

“I think that would be a conversation that enters my lawyer hat,” Pimenta responded when asked whether the charges were raised during negotiations with Manchester City. “And that’s not something we should be talking about.”

Erling Haaland could yet find himself at the centre of more silverware this season despite the overall disappointments of the campaign and Manchester City’s failure to seriously compete for another Premier League crown and progress in the UEFA Champions League.

This weekend will see the club feature in their third consecutive FA Cup Final as they take on Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, while the summer brings no break as City travel to the United States to compete in the newly-expanded and revamped FIFA Club World Cup.